


waltzing in a vacuous hall, (in vivacity)

by advances, houmei



Category: Todd Allison & the Petunia Violet
Genre: mostly elijah and meredith centered oops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-21
Updated: 2013-04-21
Packaged: 2017-12-09 02:27:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/768908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/advances/pseuds/advances, https://archiveofourown.org/users/houmei/pseuds/houmei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Todd and Petunia week (04/21 - 04/27). First chapter of seven; Elijah and Meredith catch an unwanted lucky break.</p>
            </blockquote>





	waltzing in a vacuous hall, (in vivacity)

 

Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated. ~Mason Cooley

 

“The powers that be are out to get me!” This is followed by a slow chime of laughter, one that eventually settles into a sigh, and Elijah thinks he hears the comment of someone complaining about the heat.

He doesn’t hear much of that these days, considering October had passed without so much as a breeze, without a sliver of air to relieve one’s damp brow or heaving back. These neighbors are funny ones but he doesn’t think of them too much either. Each mind their own business and are as quiet and mundane as the next gent he’d see on the street.

They’re not terribly helpful either, because not one soul passes through when he and Meredith spend the next five minutes of their morning scrutinizing each little blemish on their car, each worn piece of material in hopes that they might find the cause of it’s sudden stall. One minute he was speculating the rotation of the clutch with Meredith, the next he’s peering over the dashboard despite only being able to see the hood of their car. Meredith took it upon himself to pop it open and inspect it even further, but Elijah can’t see him from here. Luckily, he still hears him.

“Try starting the engine again.”

Elijah recoils the doubt in his chest and turns the key. Their car, their loyal, capable, adequate hunk of machine of a car makes a terrible heaving noise, somewhere where Elijah assumes is the tailpipe. He turns once, twice...he feels as though he’s twisting the tail of some ragged old cat hanging by a single thread of life. Perhaps Meredith feels it too because after a couple more attempts he waves his hand in a gesture for Elijah to stop. It sputter-sputter-sputters but gives no jolt of life. Meredith pulls back his sleeve, leans further down, and braves wedging his hand between the catacombs of pipes and valves. There’s nothing that looks particularly out of place, and even if there was the extent of his knowledge can only tell him that something must be wrong internally.

When Meredith pulls back he inspects his arm - good, no stains. Regardless of the set back they’ll still be going to work (it was mutually unspoken between them). After a slow wipe of his brow, Meredith lowers the hood and Elijah knows the expression on his face - he imagines he looks about the same. It’s too hot to be doing any of this. “I can’t see anything wrong with it.” Meredith admits.

Elijah is all too ready to pull the key from the ignition. “It’s fine, Meredith.” Honestly, it’s a common inconvenience, but it doesn’t necessarily stop Elijah from feeling sorely put out. “Don’t worry about it,” he removes himself from the foreign driver's seat and moves round to see Meredith already closing the hood of the car. Meredith looks chastened but Elijah can afford a slow smile in response and guides them both back up the stairs.

“At least now we can stop wondering when we’ll start having car troubles.” He makes a snide remark over his shoulder and continues up, but doesn’t stop to see Meredith’s defeated smile. “It’s alright, though. I think I know someone who can fix it - probably.”

 

Meredith can’t say he feels entirely convinced by the notion, because whether or not Elijah did know somebody, it didn’t seem as though he was bent on fixing it right this minute. He thinks, by now, the traffic must have slowed down, and it would have been a quick ride - ah, but the use of mulling over it.

By the time they’re inside Elijah is already pacing, already immersed so thoroughly in his thoughts that it would probably take another inconvenience (the electricity going out, the water running dry) to pull him out of it. If that be the case, Meredith figures it’d be a good time to go through his own process. They could try again, they could unclog something in the car, is that what you usually did?

But there’s no use mulling over the what if’s. Only the can do’s.

And in this case, there isn’t a lot they can do.

The tram comes to mind, but so does Cyril, and Meredith must hold back the physical recoil that comes with the thought. The tram is a no. When he glances outside and sees the reflective waves of heat coming wafting in the air, he decides it’s much too hot to walk (as far as he’s concerned no one has walked into Parliament drenched in sweat, and they shouldn’t be the first to start the trend). They had no bicycles, they haven’t had any in years. Each conclusion is met with a wall

“Well,” Elijah’s voice breaks the silence. Meredith returns to their living room with a subtle turn of his head, and Elijah is back on the same field of thought. It isn’t unusual for them both to drift out suddenly while remaining in the same place for too long. “We’ll have to call in late, Meredith.” Elijah emphasizes with a slight suffering sigh, and endures the long walk to the phone with Meredith’s eyes still keenly on him. “And afterwards...” The phone’s dialing chime rings out once, twice...”We’ll just have to figure something out.”

 

He expects the line to ring a few times before anyone bothers answering it - as far as he’s concerned everyone is in their usual perches, flapping wings and honking into receivers and being busy, busy little birds. When someone finally does pick up, Elijah isn’t surprised at all.

“Internal Affairs Department.” The voice is distant and Elijah doesn’t appreciate being juggled on a shoulder, regardless of how busy it may be. The man on the other line doesn’t seem very energetic today - then again, whether he’s training Elijah or idly squinting at his back, when did he ever seem lively?

“It’s Elijah.” He glances at Meredith, surely out of habit. “I’m having a bit of trouble this morning.”

_Aren’t we all_ , is a distant murmur that is only barely veiled by the static of the phone. But it isn’t. The other male returns after a second. “Oh, is that so? That’s unfortunate. I was wondering where you were this morning.”

“I apologize.” He feels his smile growing wider. Such a funny person. “It was a bit of car trouble, ah, still is. I figured I’d let the department know I’d be late.”

“Well, that’s determination.” It is though, isn’t it? God, but it is, just misplaced, perhaps - “Er...are you going to leave right away?”

“Yes, I was hoping to.”

 

Simultaneous lights all flicker into place.

“Ahaha, on second thought...Mr. Gabriel, why don’t you take some time off? None of us are really doing much here, you know most of our superiors are back in London on holiday, too darn hot here-” Elijah can hear the subtle stresses of his mouth racing with him, attempting to get every word out as soon as possible. When he gives Meredith a long stare amidst the rambling, he sits straight in attention.

“A week off? I couldn’t possibly...” He really couldn’t.

"You could and I insist! You've barely missed a day, ah, you haven't missed a day. We all think you're a hard worker." The tone of his voice nearly mimics the desperate clawing of tiny paws against a wall. "I'd go as far as to say _too_ hard, haha. You’ll work yourself to death one of these days!"

Oh, that took some moxy. Elijah restrains a smile that would cut glass. “I can’t say that I agree, but...”

“You’d be surprised then just how many of us think you could use a break. And I agree, you shouldn’t push yourself. Live easy for a week! Work will be here when you get back.”

When he presses his back to the nearest wall it nearly inflicts a sigh from him, but Elijah remains persistent. “As much as I _appreciate_ the notion, I couldn’t ask for a holiday so-”

“No, no, listen to me. You can, Mr. Gabriel, in fact I might take holiday myself! Just- don’t...worry! Haha, don’t worry, you have the week off. Stay home. I’ll see you Monday!”

He can’t believe how deafening that disconnected line sounds. He’s not in shock no, but...he really didn’t believe the other man had it in him. Elijah can feel Meredith’s eyes behind him, patiently waiting to be informed, or surprised or prepared, either one of them counts. And when Elijah turns to him and finally cradles the phone into it’s receiver, he blinks slowly. The neighbors downstairs chorus a long laugh and it reverberates under their feet. It does seem a little funny, when you think about it.

 

“...We have the week off, Meredith.”


End file.
